JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — An overnight raid by the U.S special forces in northwestern Syria, targeting Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, the leader of ISIS who blew himself up killing him but also his family members during a counterterrorism operation Thursday.
“The U.S. still has about 2500 I think troops in Iraq at this point. so there is a presence there and also the U.S. has great mobility. You know if there’s a high valued target they can move in quickly,” said Dr. Andrew Holt, Professor of History at Florida State College at Jacksonville.
Holt says the execution of Al Qurayshi is significant because he was tasked with rebuilding a caliphate.
“Over the last two years there hasn’t been that much coverage of ISIS. A lot of their forces have been destroyed. Their landing holdings have been destroyed but this doesn’t mean they don’t have an incredible sort of name brand in the terrorist world community," said Holt.
Dr. Holt believes there are elements that still exist that will want to succeed Al Qurayshi.
“The U.S., the Iraqi forces, and other groups are whittling away at ISIS as much as the can in an effort to really suppress them once and for all," said Holt.